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Rhodesia Bush War 1966 to 1980

Having published quite a number of books pertaining to both African Warfare and Rhodesian History, this offering serves as an entry level overview of the Rhodesian War as one of the last great military episodes in the African liberation period.

The Rhodesian Bush War, or the Zimbabwe Liberation Struggle as it was also known, was in simple terms the culmination of a half century of failed efforts to find an accommodation between the races in Southern Rhodesia. During the late 1950s and early 1960s the liberation movements throughout Africa were claiming one success after another in their efforts to remove the residue of European rule on the continent, but south of the Zambezi there was a determination not to relinquish two generations of endeavor to build a colony, and then a country, out of what was in effect the African wilderness. An early reluctance to engage with black nationalists generated a great deal of hostility by the 1960s, after which any efforts to find common ground failed, rendering war more or less inevitable. A more detailed description of the causes and effects of war in Rhodesia is available here.

This book begins with an overview of the evolution of a military culture in Rhodesia, followed by key elements of Rhodesian military involvement in both world wars. It then covers the political background to the Rhodesian conflict from both sides of the political divide before examining the structure and capabilities of both sides in the struggle, concluding with key strategies, battles and campaigns and that in general provide a detailed but accessible introduction into this much studied subject.

This is Volume 17 in the Africa@War series, and as such adds to the growing repertoire of books covering key campaigns and theaters of conflict in Africa since WWII